Cody’s

‘Comedy’
Confabulation

“A Really Funny, Real Time Prediction, For The Real World…”

 Comedy Confabulation
By Cody S. Fisher © 2010

Effect: The magician tries to read the minds of the audience several times and does in
fact succeed BUT in the most absurd manner possible! (Think Gag Predictions) In the
end however, the magician removes a sealed prediction from his wallet that proves he
did in fact know exactly what the audience would say!

History: I have been using the confabulation concept (aka real time prediction) by
Alan Shaxon for more years than I can remember. This is one of those effects that al-
ways packs flat and plays BIG. I suppose the success of the effect is primarily due to
the ‘simplicity of the plot’. Basically, a few items are randomly called out by your audi-
ence as the performer writes them down (for later verification). There is no way these
items could have been ‘forced’ as they are completely random. In the end the per-
former proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that he knew which items would be called
out by removing a sealed prediction from his wallet which is read and is shown to be
100% correct.

Over the years I have experimented with many versions that have appeared on the
market. Not that I was that unhappy with the original; but like most magicians I was still
searching for that “Holy Grail” of method AND presentation. After not finding a satisfac-
tory solution in someone else’s hard work, I decided to really examine the effect my-
self.

There are a few aspects of most confabulation routines that I simply do not like. Some
may not have issues with these but in my own work, I always try to create effects that
are fooling as well as highly entertaining. The ‘issues’ I have with most confabulation
routines are as follows:

• Why is the performer writing down the 3 randomly called out items? Are we to
believe that the performer (or the audience for that matter) is unable to remem-
ber a list of THREE things? This just seems too suspicious and to be honest
completely unnecessary. It also leads directly to the method!
• The size of the written prediction is almost always the same size (or similar) as
the note pad the performer is writing on. Again, this just always seems a little
too convenient for me. I always felt that what was written down and what was
later revealed should “look” as different as possible.
• The written prediction is almost always in the same color ink as the information
recorded on the notepad. Also in the versions that use carbon paper, the pre-
diction is actually “identical” to what was written on the notepad. This means
you are not able to show them side by side! In my opinion this opens the door
 for the audience being able to deduce at least part of the ‘method’ involved.
• The process of asking volunteers to name random items is rather boring for the
most part. I have yet to see a confabulation routine that is truly entertaining.

There you have it my friends, all the problems I see with the effect as usually per-
formed today. I set out to construct a confabulation (i.e. real time prediction) routine
that would solve all of these problems. What you have in your hands is several years
of thought and real world performing experience. This routine is one of the funniest
things I do in my show, it never fails to have my audiences laughing and having a good
time AND the ending with the sealed prediction always fries them! Enjoy...

The Props: The following items will take less than an hour to put together. Keep in
mind you only have to do it once!

• Pad Of Paper (I use Bienfang Drawing Pad-11 x 14 with spiral on top)

• 1 Pack of Sharpie Twin Tip Markers
• Piece of White Paper (5.5 x 4.25)
• LePaul Style Card To Envelope Wallet (See end notes for alternatives)
• Envelopes For Wallet
• Rubber Cement
• Razor Blade

Making Your Gimmicked Sharpie: Take one red and one black Sharpie Twin Tip
Markers and simply switch both caps. You will now have what appears to be a
black sharpie that writes red! You will also need to take the black sharpie and
color the tiny red area of the fine point writing end so it appears black.

There is no need to color this

part of the marker black as it will
never be seen or used during
the routine.

Using the black sharpie, color in

this tiny portion of the red
marker so it appears black.
Preparing Your Gag Pad: Your 11 x 14 gag pad will have four pre-written gag pre-
dictions on it. Remove ALL the paper except for the 4 pieces needed for the
gag predictions. This will make your pad very light and easier to handle. Using a
normal black sharpie marker, on the first page write the word “NO”. On the sec-
ond page draw a very generic looking animal. On the third page draw a pic-
ture of a bar code. Finally on the last page write “This Guy Sucks”.

Top Spiral Pad

Here is the pad I

use. The cover
was not originally
black, I simply 14
painted it with
black spray paint.

11

Page 1 Page 2

Page 3 Page 4
The Pre-Written Prediction: For the prediction I use a 5.5 x 4.25 piece of white
paper. The prediction is then prepared so that everything is pre-written except
for the three items your audience will call out. (The number / animal / grocery
store item) To get a piece of paper this size simply take a standard 8.5 x 11
sheet of paper and cut it into quarters. Once you have the proper size fold it into
quarters with the prediction blanks facing you.

5.5

Last night I dreamed I was

performing for COMPANY NAME. It was a
GREAT show! They gave me a really
BIG TIP AND a standing ovation when
I correctly predicted the following 3 things...

4.25
The Number is Here is the
area where
The Animal is you will
write your
The Product is predictions

P.S. I Don't Suck That Bad!

The prediction should be handwritten in red with the fine point of your gimmicked
sharpie. The above is just an example of the wording that I use. (DO NOT TYPE
OUT THE PREDICTION) An actual written example is on the next page.

I like to include the “company name” in my predictions to make it seem a little

more customized for the group I am working for.

Also, the line about the BIG TIP always gets a laugh. But there is method to my
madness in the fact that it also lets my clients know that I will accept a big tip for
my services!

The line about the standing ovation is really meant to be more funny that serious
but sometimes it actually works!

Finally the P.S. line is a funny call back to my final prediction and is a nice way to
end the routine.

You can change the prediction to say anything you want, just make sure that
when it is folded your three predictions can be written in the bottom right quarter.
Here you can see a real example of how the written prediction would look. The
dashed lines are for example only and shows where the paper would be folded.

When the prediction paper is folded into

quarters you should be able to see the
bottom right quarter. Notice how the
arrows act as a guide letting you know
exactly where to write the three random
items.

During the routine you will be holding this

folded piece of paper on the gag pad and
eventually palm it off and load it into your
envelope wallet.
Setting Up Your Wallet For The Prediction: This will obviously be different for
each person depending on which LePaul style wallet you use. My own personal
preference is the Garnier Elite 3-Function Wallet by the Camirand Academy
of Magic. To prepare the envelope seal the top flap and cut a slit in the bottom.
Apply rubber cement to both inner sides. Let the glue dry before you insert it
into your wallet. I prepare about 5 at a time and place a piece of wax paper in-
side the envelopes to keep them from sticking together prematurely. Just before
the show remove the wax paper and insert the envelope into your wallet. When
the envelope is removed from your wallet all you have to do is lightly squeeze
the prepared end and the Rubber Cement will seal it shut!

I prefer pay
envelopes over
regular letter
envelopes. Seal up
the open end and
using a razor blade,
open the opposite
end.

Apply Rubber
Cement to the inside
of both sides of the
open end. Let it dry
and place a piece of
wax paper in the
envelope to keep the
two glued ends from
touching.

Just before show time,

load the prepared
envelope into your
card to wallet.
Stage Set-Up: Your gag prediction pad is inside your case. Your LePaul wallet is
ready to go in your inside jacket pocket. (I palm with my right hand so my wallet is on
my left side) The gimmicked sharpie and the folded up prediction are in your right out-
side jacket pocket.

Pre-Performance Notes: The basic mechanics of this routine are very simple. You
are hiding a small folded prediction on a larger pad and using three gag predictions as
“cover” to write the real predictions on the small folded paper. To end you simply palm
the small folded prediction paper and load it into an envelope wallet. That’s it “in a nut-
shell”. I have tried to make this e-book as complete as possible. However I must
warn you!

Once you have all the props you will need to practice this quite a bit in order to make
all the actions of the routine flow smoothly. If I were to break down every single move
that is required to perform this successfully it would be impossible for you to memorize
and make for a boring explanation. The truth is that everyone will perform the above
actions a little bit different to suit their own needs.

When walking through this routine during your practice sessions pay close attention to
the little things. How do I uncap the marker while holding the pad? What do I do with
the cap? Which hand holds the marker? How do I turn the page an keep the hidden
prediction in place? (Really ‘think’ about these things)

While this routine is very simple in concept, it is these little details that will make it flow
smoothly. If you do not practice, it may appear as if you are ‘fumbling’ with the items
on stage and your audience will notice!

The Actual Routine: O.K so you should have a pretty good idea of where I am going
with all this. Throughout this entire routine we will be using the one behind principal.
The gag predictions serve as the perfect misdirection for writing the real predictions.

To begin remove the gag pad from your onstage case. Announce that you will try to
predict some things that random audience volunteers will say. Open the gag pad to the
first page, keeping the “NO” gag hidden. Your right hand removes the gimmicked
Sharpie from your right jacket pocket and also secretly palms the folded prediction.
The right hand moves behind the pad so the left hand can uncap the gimmicked
Sharpie. (The gag pad completely hides this from the audience.) As this happens the
right hand leaves the folded prediction on the pad as the left thumb holds it in place.
Address the first volunteer as you ask them for a number from 1 to 1000 indicating that
you will try to predict their response. Pretend to write something on the pad and say,
“Are you thinking of the number 634?” The volunteer says, “No”. Turn the pad around
to show the word NO written in big bold letters. (This is a standard gag but always gets
a laugh.) After the laughter dies down casually ask what the number was while joking
that you weren’t even close. (For example the volunteer says 147)

Performance Note: When turning the pad around to show the audience the gag pre-
dictions, you will use your right hand to cover the folded prediction so it is not seen by
the audience. Not a move...just do it casually!

Every time you turn the pad

around to show the audience a
gag prediction, your hand will
cover the folded prediction.

You will now turn the pad to face you as you turn to the next page on your gag pad.
Simply hold the folded prediction in place with your left thumb as your right hand turns
the page. Continue on with the second prediction by having someone think of any four
legged animal in the entire world. As you pretend to draw the goofy animal you are ac-
tually writing the number 147 on the folded prediction in the first blank.

Performance Note: Don’t just write down the information on the folded prediction. Ac-
tually pretend to draw or write what is on the gag pad. This will make it much more
believable that you were really writing the gag prediction. I use the tip of my finger and
trace what is already there.

After you finish the pretend drawing, ask the audience volunteer what animal they are
thinking of. When they respond (For example elephant) turn the pad around to reveal
the vague animal drawing. Again this will get a laugh! As before when turning the pad
around you will need to cover the folded prediction with your right hand so it is not visi-
ble to your audience.

Once again turn the gag pad towards yourself and turn to the next page. As always
use your left thumb to hold the folded prediction in place. You will be looking at the
folded prediction and the bar code. Have another audience volunteer think of any item
in a grocery store. You will pretend to draw something on the pad but in reality you will
be writing the word “elephant” on your folded prediction. Ask the volunteer what item
they are thinking of. (For example canned corn) Just as before, turn the pad around
while covering the folded prediction and reveal the bar code gag.

Finally turn the pad towards yourself one last time and turn to the last prediction (This
Guys Sucks) and pretend to write something on the pad as you say, “O.K. I know what
everyone in the audience is thinking and when I turn the pad around if I am right
please give me a round of applause”. While saying this you are actually writing the fi-
nal prediction “canned corn” on your folded up prediction. Your right hand now moves
behind the gag pad as you cap the marker. At the same time the right hand secretly
palms the folded prediction. (The gag pad will completely cover this action) As you turn
the pad around for your final laugh (and applause...because you do suck!) the right
hand will place the Sharpie back into your inner jacket pocket. While the right hand is
out of view you will also load the folded prediction into your wallet.

This last gag is pretty funny and the audience believes this is really the end of the rou-
tine. You have the cover of the audience laughter to load the folded prediction into the
LePaul wallet. There is no heat at this point in the routine as all this was seen as
merely a clever play on words.

After the laughter dies down, place the gag pad back in your case. You will now bring
someone on stage to reveal the folded prediction in the envelope. When your volun-
teer is onstage remove the wallet from your pocket and hand it to them. Now you will
address each of the random volunteers who named an item. Ask them to say the
name of the item they chose and confirm with them that it was a completely free
choice. Take the wallet from your onstage volunteer, unzip it, and remove the sealed
envelope. Have your onstage volunteer verify that the envelope is sealed. Rip open
the envelope by tearing off the glued end. Remove the folded prediction paper, unfold
it, and hand it to the onstage volunteer. Have them read the prediction to the audience
and enjoy your standing ovation! (And possible BIG TIP!)

Performance Note: When choosing someone to come on stage to read the final pre-
diction. Try to choose someone who may not need glasses to read. Or if performing for
a more mature audience, make it clear that you need a volunteer to come on stage
and they are going to have to read something. This way there will be no ‘fumbling for
glasses’ during the climax of the routine.

Music Notes: As a professional entertainer I like to make my routines appeal to many

senses so I love using music in my show. Whether it’s a dramatic piece of music for
my “color changing silk” or a crazy piece of music for my “silk to egg” effect, music can
definitely enhance your show. Just try to imagine a David Copperfield show with no
music!

Typically when I perform this effect I use four very short pieces of music or sound
bytes. I use these sound bytes when I am supposedly drawing on the gag pad. The
songs are pretty funny and seem to ‘fit’ with overall feel of the routine. Also, I like to
eliminate any dull moments I can and watching someone draw is pretty boring!

As I am drawing (actually writing!) the predictions I play the following three pieces of
music using my mp3 Tech.

1. For the No gag I use “What’s On Your Mind” by Information Society.

2. When pretending to draw the animal I use “Think” by Aretha Franklin.
3. When pretending to draw to the grocery item I use “Never Gonna Get It” by
En Vogue.
4. And finally just after the onstage volunteer reads the folded prediction I use
the “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah. Although I prefer the Halle-
lujah Chorus, another great ending piece is “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” by
Stevie Wonder.

Each song is only played for about 15-20 seconds but they really make this routine
play so much bigger.

Problem Solving: Earlier in this PDF I mentioned several problems I felt really weak-
ened the confabulation effect. Let’s once again take a look at these problem and how
this routine deals with them.

Problem: Why write down the randomly called out items?

Solution: Well in this version you don’t! Or at least it appears that you are not writ-
ing them down. You will in fact be writing them down, but it will appear that you
are actually writing something else. (The gag predictions)

Problem: The size of the written prediction is similar to the little note pad you are
writing on.

Solution: In this version you will be revealing the ‘gag predictions’ which are writ-
ten on a jumbo 11 x 17 drawing pad. The folded prediction that is revealed in
your wallet is much smaller.

Problem: The written prediction and the information on the note pad are written in
similar inks.

Solution: In this version you will only be pretending to write down the gag predic-
tions with a black sharpie marker. In reality the sharpie has been gimmicked to
 write in red ink. So the audience will see no connection between what you are
writing on the pad and the final prediction in your wallet.

Problem: Asking three audience volunteers for information can be very boring.

Solution: So in this presentation we are going to make the most boring part of the
trick the most fun! We do this by using three “gag predictions” in order to make
the ‘information gathering’ more fun.

Other Options For The Final Prediction: If you don’t have a LePaul wallet then no
problem! Here are a few other ideas that you may be interested in.

LePaul Envelop Set: On page 1367 of Card College you will find the explanation for
creating a LePaul Envelope Set. This is a fantastic alternative to the wallet.

Balloon: Basically everything is exactly the same as the original version except that
you have a black balloon onstage. At the end of the routine you simply palm off the
folded prediction as you grab the balloon. With your other hand, grab something sharp
and pop the balloon. The folded prediction will fall to the floor as if it were inside the
balloon. Mark Jenest has a great little idea on his Miracles While You Wait DVD that
will allow you to shake the balloon and actually hear the prediction inside...check it out!

Kaps Box: I will use this idea from time to time for smaller audiences. Basically take a
dummy prediction with visible writing and glue it to the inside of a small box. This box
is given out to an audience member before the routine begins. At the conclusion of the
routine you will have the real prediction hidden in finger palm. It is a simple matter to
open the box and perform a shuttle pass.
Jon Allen’s Destination Box: I mentioned the Kaps Box above as they are easily
constructed. My own personal preference when using this method is Jon’s beautiful
prop. This elevates the routine to miracle status as the locked box is in the audience
before the routine even begins!

David Regal Special Delivery Envelope: Another inexpensive alternative is David

Regal’s Special Delivery. This gimmicked envelope will allow you to show a dummy
prediction inside a sealed window envelope and invisibly switch it for the real predic-
tion that is being held behind it. You will need to gimmick up the Regal envelope with a
dummy prediction as opposed to a playing card like in the original instructions. The il-
lusion of removing the prediction from the envelope is absolutely PERFECT.

When I have used this method I have the Regal envelope in my outer breast pocket. I
DO NOT call attention to it until the very end of the routine. Once you have written
your final prediction on the folded paper slide it to the top of the pad with your left
thumb. Remove the Regal envelope from your pocket and hold it between your right
first and middle finger with the window side facing the audience. (They will immediately
see a written prediction inside). With you right hand grabs the top of the gag pad so
your right thumb is resting on the real folded prediction. The left hand pulls the pad
away leaving the folded prediction behind the Regal envelope. From here just follow
the original instructions for Special Delivery and you are set!

Special Delivery Envelope

Folded Prediction

Mullica Wallet: You can also perform this with a Mullica Wallet using the same han-
dling as used for the Special Delivery envelope.
Extra Ideas: My friend Greg Arce suggested having a small clip at the lower end of
the pad. The clip is attached to the back panel of the pad, but clips the gag predictions
and the folded prediction. I may just give this a try!

I have been doing this routine for a very long time and have never guessed the num-
ber correctly for the first prediction. I would much rather miss and use the NO gag!
BUT if you did happen to get the number correct simply turn the pad around upside
down and say you were “right ON”...pretty lame...but at least you have and out!

If you don’t like having to ask what the number was for the fist prediction you can re-
place the NO gag with the foreign language gag. Simply have some foreign language
symbol drawn on the fist page. Have your first volunteer think of a number. You pre-
tend to draw something then ask them to announce their number. When they say the
number you can turn the gag pad around to show you are correct but it is written on
anther language. This method eliminates you having to casually ask what the number
was. I have used both and in my experience the NO gag plays better.

Credits: There are many versions of Confabulation in print but Alan Shaxon deserves
credit for the original concept. I had so many wonderful people help me out with the
development of this routine over the years. I would like to personally thank Michael
Dustman for sharing three of his music ideas with me. My friend Alym Amlani was very
helpful when brainstorming about other possible non-wallet endings. My friend David
J. Greene was very helpful with editing and providing extra ideas. Greg Arce was very
kind to read an early version and contribute some great ideas as well. And finally I
would like to thank my good Peter The Adequate. We have been talking about the per-
fect “real time prediction” for many years. I think what you have here is pretty close…

Your Friend In Magic

Cody S. Fisher

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Cody S. Fisher